We love the idea of a house on wheels. You could move it where you want it to be at any given time, but still feel like you live in a house and not in an RV. What is even more interesting is that the idea of making these little houses on wheels was to avoid zoning issues that the architect, Tom Kunding ran into. The land that these occupy came with a limitation that allowed only for RV hookups. The architect and his client decided to omit the foundation and build the guest cottages on wheels.
These modern $75,000 huts could technically roll, but the wheels are mostly present from the aesthetic side of things and in this case - the zoning issue. The interiors evoke simplicity in their designs with the plywood walls and cork floors. The electricity, built-in porta-potties, and wood-burning stove provide the basics that you need.
Tom Kundig is part of Seattle firm Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen. He studied architecture at the University of Washington. He is well known for his appreciation for industrial materials and using old devices: levers, cranks, and pulleys. A perfect example is the amazing turning wheel with gears and a bike chain that is used to open the huge window at the Idaho cabin that we have featured previously on AT. You can check it out in more detail here.
Chicken Point Cabin - Northern Idaho 2002
The amazing window is 30 feet by 20 feet. We love the industrial turning wheel with gears. The cabin itself is made of concrete, steel and plywood.
Artist's Studio - Seattle 2006
The studio is located on a second floor of a former 3,750-square-foot warehouse. The space is very flexible with the help of the sliding, pivoting wall panels that can be moved along the main beam of the warehouse.
Montecito Residence- Montecito, Calif. 2008
This house is made of fire resistant materials as it is situated in a fire prone area of Toro Canyon.
Ridge House - Eastern Washington 2001
This house is constructed of wood boxes atop of three stone piers in a forest. The areas of the house are open and interconnected with each other.
This amazing structure is a 14,280-cubic-foot cinematic laboratory designed for a filmmaker. For more photos click here.
Photos: WSJ. Magazine
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
More information on the houses on wheels available here:
http://www.oskaarchitects.com/Projects/825/Rolling-Huts
view AlmostAD's profile
This post and the link to the project need some interior shots. And I'm kind of disappointed that this isn't a real RV-- how awesome would it be to travel across the country in such a cool structure?
view taritac's profile
Wow, these are brilliant! The only thing about the hut on wheels is that is seems like it could get very cold, although I suppose a wood-burning stove suffices for 200 sq. ft.
I remember the Brain from when it was first posted. Even in a photograph that soaring space is thrilling. I wonder what the acoustics are like. The motivational staircase is unfortunate, and I always wonder about flat roofs in these damp, chilly climates. Don't they fall prey to Wright's leaky roof syndrome?
Still, great stuff.
view Henrietta the Terrible's profile
Great places! I'd love to have one...until my husband went out of town. I'd be so scared to be in the middle of the woods with no curtains (or even WITH curtains) living in such a peculiar place!
view Erin Lang Norris/Yellow Canoe's profile
Gorgeous homes--love how they sit in nature.
view azure's profile
Wow...I want.
view Louis XIII's profile